The Story Of The Trickster

by GamerOtakuSama

When Sae receives a game about the Phantom Thieves and instructions to bring specific people, Akira ends up playing the game in front of Shujin Academy, his confidants and Akechi. [[Sort of PolyThieves. AkiraxRyujixYusukexHaruxMakotoxAkechi, AnnxShiho]] [[Set after Akira's interrogation]] [[Persona 5 with Royal features (no Kasumi or Maruki)]] [[Slight AU]]

It was two weeks after Akira returned from imprisonment. He'd rested his body for that week under his friend's, Takemi's and Sojiro's command. His broken ribs had healed and all his bruises had faded into a light green. Some scars remained, like around his wrists from his cuffs, but they didn't hurt all too much. It was more annoying than painful.

Morgana frowned as he watched Akira bandage his wrists, "Maybe you should stay in bed for one more day. Mementos can wait." Akira shook his head, wincing as he pulled the bandages a bit too tight. "Hey, it takes a lot of for a palace to form. It can't grow over the course of two weeks. It takes at least a year. Plus, Mecurius and I are demanding that you get more rest. You know, the best healer duo on your team."

"He's right, you know?" Arsene's voice patronised, "Overworking one's self will only serve to hinder as oppose to help." Ignoring his persona, Akira sealed the bandages and started plastering bandaids on his smaller and much more minor injuries.

Akira finished up dressing his wounds and worked on his chest. Takemi told him to continue bandaging it for a few more days until the small, dull pain went away completely. He listened, not wanting to take any chances. Broken ribs are a serious thing after all. Seeing the small flinches from Akira (most likely from pulling a bit too hard), Morgana walked over to him, ears drooped down.

After throwing on his casual wear, Akira pet Morgana's head, much to his dismay. "Okay. I won't go to Mementos, but I will help Iwai-san and Chihaya-san out." Grumbling, Morgana settled into Akira's bag, his protests dying.

"If you say so..." He wondered where his leader's need to help people came from. God forbid one of the other thieves picked it up from him, what with all their lovey-dovey coupley stuff. One sacrificial idiot was enough, thank you very much. Thankfully, Ann was not a part of that hot mess. And neither was Futaba.

Akira cautiously walked down the stairs. He made sure not to agitate the bruise on his thigh - the one that just won't go away. Just looking at it brought back memories of the man crushing his leg under his foot. Shaking it off, Akira reached the bottom.

"You're hurt, foolish master." Arsene chastised, "You needn't concern yourself with others in this state; it shall only perturb them more than they must be."

Akira pretended that he didn't hear him (somehow) and walked into the occupants' line of sight. Sojiro and Futaba glared, "What do you think you're doing, young man?" Sojiro frowned, a patronising tone that reminded Akira off a father. In the back of his mind, Arsene chuckled. He could imagine the smirk on the gentlemen thief's face.

Shifting awkwardly, Akira looked away, "I'm going to see Iwai-san." He grimaced. talking with a bandage on his cheek and jaw was uncomfortable. Well, he didn't speak much either way.

Futaba stood in front of him pointing a finger. "No, you're not, mister! Not on my watch!" She spreads her arms out, lip protruded into a stubborn pout. "We're watching you, Kiki! Even Prometheus is scolding you!"

The bell rang. Sae walked in, panic on her face. "Kurusu-kun." Curious, Akira peaked around Futaba to look at the prosecutor. "We have a problem."

The three, plus Morgana, sat at one of the tables after Sojiro closed the place. She folded her arms. "Did you tell anyone but the list of people you gave about your phantom thievery?"

Alert, Futaba and Akira straightened. Morgana hopped out of the bag, landing on the table. Sojiro's eyes narrowed. Akira shook his head. "And they only reason the ones on the list found out was because I helped them..." He looked at her, "What's wrong, Nijima-san?"

Sae bit her lip. She reached into her pocket and presented a small card - much like the Phantom Thieves card.

Akira froze as he read the contents.

"It seems you've been caught," Arsene commented, also scanning the letter.

Exhaling a shaky breath, Akira read aloud. "Dear Nijima Sae, aider of the Phantom Thieves, and dear Kurusu Akira, leader of the Phantom Thieves,

"I present to you this game, Persona 5." Futaba made a noise of surprise, Morgana hunching in suspicion. "This follows the story of one Kurusu Akira and his gang of misfits. Join them as they battle shadows in another world full of distorted desires... That has to be the metaverse." Sojiro grumbled placing a hand on his chin. "The following are to watch a person of your choice play the game:" Akira's eyes slowly widened with every name he read. They were all his confidants, bar Igor and the Twins, plus Shiho. And finally, "Shujin Academy."

Morgana hissed, "Let's just ignore it, Akira. It can't be real, right?" Futaba translated. Sighing, Sae opened her bag and pulled out a DVD box. The Phantom Thieves were on the cover, Arsene in the background.

"Hm? This mysterious individual has somehow produced an image of me..." Akira could hear the annoyance in Arsene's voice. His hand clenched around the letter.

"No way..." Morgana's ears drooped as Futaba slowly turned the box. It was Joker, Skull, Mona and Panther in black and white over a red background.

"There's more..." Akira glared at the paper. "This game will not start until all the invited guests are present. By playing this game, you will be able to avoid certain actions that lead to an unfortunate future. And just to make you realise the consequences, any injuries gained during the runtime of the game, you will feel the sensation of. Signed, Seer... Crap..." Not only has his wounds all just sealed up, but he will feel the pain of any and all injuries gained in this game? That could very well open his wounds. He bit his lip.

Arsene chuckled, though there was not a single bit of amusement in his tone. "You seem to be aware of the consequences. But does the loss outweigh the gains? Or could it be the vice-versa?"

"So?" Sae said, eyebrows furrowed. "What's your call?"

Akira stared at the letter and then at the game. Fuck it. Arsene laughed. "Let's do it."

---

Yusuke did not expect Sae to walk in his art class. He also did not expect her to excuse him from his favourite lesson of the day. Nor did he expect her to get Hifumi along the way.

When outside of the building, he finally asked what was going on. Sae answered curtly, "Kurusu-kun and I received a letter from an unknown individual. They knew of his identity, as well as yours, as a phantom thief." Yusuke's eyes widened. "They gave us a game which details the life of Kurusu-kun and the Phantom Thieves." Sae unlocked her car and ushered the two kids in. "Everyone else is there already. That includes Akechi."

Yusuke scowled. "Why?" The bastard tried to kill his lover/leader, of course, he was furious. He has every right to. It was also Akechi's fault that Akira was captured and subjected to police brutality. Even after a whole week, Akira still woke up in the middle of the night and called one of them just to calm himself down, and they'd told each other every single time.

Sae glared afar, hand twisting the ignition key. She pulled out of the parking lot. "He was invited. And if any of the invited guests aren't there, the game cannot be played." Hifumi frowned, looking down at her lap as Sae drove as fast as she could without breaking the limit. "I know that it's not a good thing but we'll have to put up with it. Without him there, certain events will be inevitable." Yusuke cringed, bowing his head further

Well, at the very least, he can punch Akechi in the face (no matter how aesthetically pleasing it is) as soon as he sees him. And he's pretty sure the others are already on it.

---

Haru smiled sweetly as Akechi hit the ground with a thud. The students around her gasped, scandalised that Haru would dare lay a hand (or a fist) on the Detective Prince. She wrung her wrist, not completely satisfied. But it will have to do because they're taking turns. Unknown to everyone but her, Astarte chuckles, relishing in her anger towards the traitor. Ryuji was next.

"Ow..." Akechi winced as he pushed himself up. Turns out, he didn't need to push himself up - Ryuji pulled him up by his collar. "Eh?" Ryuji placed him upright on the ground before slugging him. "Guh!" More outraged cries from the audience. "What was that for?" Carefully, Akechi rubbed his jaw. They couldn't have figured it out... He was so careful.

Furious, Ann walked up and slapped the fake detective. Huffing, she forced herself to not hit him again, instead she comforted herself in Shiho's embrace. Makoto walked up. Her body language was calm, but her face was anything but. She twisted her body. Using the momentum, she punched him in the nose, wishing she had her knuckle dusters.

Okay, Akechi thinks as he massages his nose, standing up. They probably do know. And he should probably stop standing up. Futaba orders Morgana to attack, pointing at the man. Morgana jumps out of the bag and claws at Akechi's face.

Haru nods at the injuries on the man, eyes promising pain. Takemi, a smirk on her face, pulls out a bottle of disinfectant and works on his wounds, relishing in every hiss of pain.

Akira smirks walking in front of his friends. "Man. Getting hit like that must hurt. I would know." Akechi's eyes widened as he looked up, seeing the smug face of his latest victim under the hood. "Wow. You look like you've seen a ghost." He gulps, biting back a snarl.

"How did you--?" Then Yusuke walks in and spots Akechi. He ignores the injuries on the man's face and tosses him over his shoulder. "Gh--!"

A girl finally snaps, "Hey! Quit hurting him!" She turns to the adults in the room, face scrunched up in anger. "Aren't you going to stop them!? You're adults, right!?"

Ohya grins, "Sorry, I'm way too drunk to think rationally." She giggles childishly, but Haru could tell that it was false.

Yoshida hums, "Pardon? I was lost in my thoughts."

"What're you talkin' 'bout, missy?" Iwai grunts. "I didn't see nothin'."

"I helped his wounds, did I not?" Takemi reasons. Well, she only did that because disinfectant stings like hell. But no one else needs to know that.

Sojiro rubs his head, "He's not my problem to deal with. I got my own problem children."

Chihaya smiled gently, "Him experiencing this fate was inevitable. Even if I stepped in, it would do nothing."

The girl turned to Kawakami. "What about you? You're a teacher, right?"

Kawakami grinned sheepishly, "That's right." She turned to the Phantom Thieves. "You get full marks."

Sae sighs, walking to the podium. "Okay, I'm pretty sure that everyone needed is here." As soon as she said that, the doors shut with a loud bang, a blue shield of light forming in front of him. Curious and panicked, a boy reached to grab the door handle only to quickly retreat his hand in a low hiss. "What is this...?"

A note appeared in front of Akira. He grabbed it and spoke. "From now on, no one can leave unless the game is completed." He frowned, clicking his tongue in annoyance. "You needn't worry about sleep and food. I mean, we kind of need it to survive." On cue, there was a flash of white and the students screamed in panic.

The gymnasium changed slightly. There were many sofas and chairs all facing a big TV at the front hanging on top of the stage. The exits disappeared. Two doors appeared at the far end of the gymnasium.

Reacting fast, Haru, Makoto and Sae checked where they lead. The first lead to a fully decked out kitchen. The other lead to more rooms. When they checked them, they turned out to be bedrooms, each having two beds. Makoto did the calculations.

"That's at least two hundred and five rooms if we include the people who are not in Shujin."

Akira handed the note to Sae. Once again, she walked to the front (the podium had also disappeared, she noticed). "Listen up!" She yelled.

Slowly, the students and teachers calmed down, listening to Sae. Akechi, cautiously, pushed himself up and walked off to the side, far from the Phantom Thieves. Who knows what they'd do if given the chance? He did kill their leader - well, sort of. He's still trying to figure out how he's alive.

"This" she raises the DVD box, "is a game called Persona 5." The Phantom Thieves look at Akira in surprise. The panic in his eyes was obvious to them, and now they realise why. "An unknown individual sent it to us to play. I don't want anyone complaining." Her glare was more than enough to convince everyone - even the ever so dauntless Iwai. "Now then, I will hand this over to Kawakami-san to decide who will play." Sae waltzed off, seating herself on one of the sofas.

Sighing, Kawakami walked up and raised her voice louder than she ever has. "Okay! Pay attention!" The students awed at her confidence. It hadn't been too long since she started to make an actual effort in class. "A quick warning before we start - any injuries gained during the game will affect you."

The persona users grimaced. They'd been warned but it still didn't sound nice. Especially with how reckless they are in the metaverse.

The volleyball players looked at each other sheepishly. All the injuries from Kamoshida really hurt. Will they feel them if it's all shown? Shiho grimaced, placing her head on Ann's shoulder. Mishima rubbed his arm, biting his lip.

"This is a game based upon the Phantom Thieves - specifically, their leader. Anyone who has a problem with that, speak up now." At the sound of reluctant silence, Kawakami smiled, "Now, who wants to play?" No one out their hand up. None of them wanted to be the cause of their friend's or their saviour's pain. "Fine." She says. "I'll pick on--"

"I'll do it," Akira says. There's a finality to his voice that leaves no room for argument.

"You are sure of this, master?" Arsene hums, "You know of the guilt you will be carrying upon your shoulders, correct?" Akira unnoticeably nods to himself.

As Kawakami nods and walks off, a bright light flashes on the stage. When it clears, there's a console with a controller and a long couch in front. Akira takes the DVD off of Sae and sticks it in the console. He takes the controller and sits in the middle.

Turning to her teammates, Haru declares, "Mako got her turn, which means that it's mine today."

Smiling, Haru sits next to Akira (where the Mona bag was not at), taking his arm in hers. The rest of the thieves fill out the sofa. Ann gets Shiho to tag along, placing her arm around her waist. Ryuji and Makoto sat close to each other. Futaba sat next to Morgana and her brother. Yusuke sat next to her, eyes facing the screen.

The rest of the guests fill out the sofas and chairs in the room, discussion filling the air. Like, when did Ann and Shiho get so close? Why were Ryuji and Makoto so near to each other? Why was Haru linking arms with the transfer? Why did they punch Akechi? What did Akechi do to anger them? Why are they here? Of course, only half could be answered.

Akira's confidants sat next to each other knowing that they could trust them. Shinya grinned excitedly, wanting to see the life of the leader of the Phantom Thieves. He sat next to an equally excited Mishima.

Akechi sat on a chair near the front, not wishing to be near overly excited fangirls. Especially when he knows the Phantom Thieves figured him out.

Akira pressed the middle button of his controller on instinct, watching as the screen lit up.

Please make an account to start, or use a guest account.

"This is quite an interesting contraption..."

Blinking, Akira looked to his friends.

Ann smiled, "Make an account! Maybe we could try to 100% this game!" Shiho smiled at her girlfriend, loving her bright energy and the fact that she has it all to herself. She thanks the lords that Ann wasn't into polymerous relationships.

Akira nodded. He clicked on the option to create a new account. He skipped the network feature, getting straight into the account making. It worked just like a ps4. Before Arsene could ask what a ps4 was, the screen changed.

Enter a Username: [ ]

A thoughtful look took over his face before he smirked and typed in. Haru chuckled lightly, leaning her head on Akira's shoulder. Of course, he would choose that.

Joker

The screen changed from blue to red. Music started playing. Jazz, Sojiro realised. Pretty good jazz. Akira changed the selection to hover over the Persona 5 Icon - the Phantom Thieves symbol.

Akira quirked a strained smirk. "Are you ready kids?"

Haru and Futaba giggled. "Aye, aye, captain!"

He clicked 'x', opening the game.

Two logos appeared one after the other, starting with CriWare and then Atlus. The number one appeared before it flicked to five, a new symbol appearing with each number. Then, it rushed to the number twenty, stopping there. More letters and words appeared to make out '20th-anniversary persona'.

Morgana hummed. He wondered if that was how long personas were a thing. Maybe he dealt with personas before he lost his form - it would explain why he was a natural.

As the logo faded away, a train sounded.

A whole bunch of the student body jolted at the sudden noise - Makoto included but she would never admit it. Meanwhile, Ann and Ryuji were outwardly cussing about the scare, whining adorably.

A new logo emerged from the flashing lights, p-studio. It cut away. A red cat-like figure dashed down the subway.

Morgana straightened up, clearly happy that he was on screen. "Hehe... This proves my dominance, Ryuji!"

Ryuji growled. "This doesn't prove anything, you idiot!" Makoto sighed. Her boyfriend forgot that no one else can hear Morgana.

"I am not an idiot!"

"Yeah, yeah - whatever you say, Monamona!"

"It's Morgana!"

The students and the confidants looked at Ryuji weirdly as he argued with a meowing cat. Were they missing something? Sojiro and Sae shook their heads and explained that Morgana can talk just not in the real world. This only served to weird them out even more.

"Guys!" Makoto yelled, frowning at them. "Stop. We need to continue."

He continued to run until he trips and falls on his face.

Morgana hissed as Ryuji sent a smug look. He was betrayed even further when the rest of the students laughed, Ann and Shiho included. Futaba snickered under her breath and petted Morgana's head. "Aww, so cute."

Arsene, amused, spoke to his master. "Should you not intervene?"

Akira sighed, "Stop teasing him, guys."

It pulled back to show the rest of the thieves, completely red aside from the white masks. Three options appeared, 'New Game', 'Load Game' and 'Config'.

Akira clicked on config.

Futaba pushed herself up from the chair, the configuration options appearing.

Akira skimmed over, turning on everything apart from the horizontal and vertical invert. As for the brightness...

"Nonono!"

"Wait!"

"Keep going."

"There!" Futaba pushed forward, slapping her hand on Akira's face. He winced, a grin on his face. They really did act like brother and sister. A healthy brother and sister.

He turned the camera speed all the way up. After that, he exited the configuration option and clicked on New Game.

The camera zoomed in on Morgana on top of the LED box. His tail curled around the box, the screen turning black.

Words appeared, "This story is a work of complete truth.

"The pain of any injury received during the runtime of the game will be conveyed through to your time.

"Only those who have accepted the above have the privilege of partaking in this game.

[I accept] I do not accept"

Akira clicked accept, ignoring the chills running down his spine from Igor's voice and his reminder of what is to come.

"...The contract has been sealed."

A girl changed her posture, a frown on her face, "This is kinda creepy... What the hell is this game?"

The boy next to her (her boyfriend, Ann presumes from the way he has his arm around her waist) nods. "Who's voicing this? He sounds weird."

Yoshida hummed. The man sounds cocky. Condescending, even. As if he knows more than anyone else does. And he probably does.

"The world is not as it should be. It is filled with distortion, and "ruin" can no longer be avoided."

Akira bit back a scowl at the words. Ever since day one, the concept of ruin and saving the world from it had been shoved onto him - as if it were his fate. As if it were a game.

Maybe that was why he was so uneasy about it. Because his life is practically a game.

Sensing his master's unease, Arsene spoke up, "You forget, young one. Not all games have a fixed ending." A smile tugging on his lips, Akira clicked x.

"Those who oppose fate and desire change... They were often referred to as Trickters."

Well, that explained his name. Or nickname, rather. He always wondered why Igor had referred to him as a Trickster.

"You are the Trickster..."

"I am?" A boy questions. His friend facepalms.

"No. The person playing is the Trickster. In this case, it's the transfer."

"Now is the time to rise against the abyss of destruction."

"Woah..." A student from 2-D, Takeda, says. "That was so eerie. I wonder who that was."

His friend, Himura, snorts, "You know it might just be some narrator, right? Like the one is Spongebob or Glee."

A girl from the same class, Yumehara, raises an eyebrow. "And if it's not? Also, you watch those shows? Spongebob I get, but Glee is American."

Ann smiled to herself. She's watched Glee too. It was mostly terrible after season 2 but she liked Kurt and Blaine and stayed for them. And let's just pretend season three and five doesn't exist. Season six practically doesn't anyway.

The words faded into the black screen. The screen changed. The camera dragged over unsettled water, a faint helicopter sounding until it became loud, the helicopter swiping in front of the camera. The camera follows it as if flies up. It shows the area of Shibuya, bright colourful lights in the distance.

Makoto gasped lightly. "Could this be...?" Hearing her gasp, Akira pressed a button, pausing the cutscene.

Ryuji, concerned, looks to her with a frown. "What's up, Mako? You okay?"

Tensely, Makoto nods her head, eyes sad. "I'm fine. But I believe that this the Casino." Recognition sparks in Ryuji's eyes. He scowls. The others heard.

Ann casts her gaze away, placing her head on Shiho's shoulder. Yusuke's face contorts, grief and anger obvious in it. Futaba stills from her previous rocking, pulling Morgana out of the way as she pulls her legs in. Morgana nuzzles into Akira's shoulder, grumbling under his breath. Haru's grip tightens as she stares into the screen, unwilling to look at Akira.

"You should say something to them. They all despise the feeling of uselessness in your situation." He knows. Akira knows how badly they've been beating themselves up for this. Especially Futaba. She took the plan the worse, arguing against every logical point until all she could do was cry.

He would do the same. And so, he speaks, "It's okay." Ryuji looks like he's going to protest. So does Ann. So he quickly adds on, "I'm okay. It was what needed to be done. I knew of the consequences."

Makoto frowned, "It doesn't make it right."

There are whispers going around the room, wondering exactly why the seven of them (eight if you include Morgana) looked so guilty.

Akira says nothing and hits a button again, watching as the scene continues.

It cuts close to a large building, the helicopter flying past and near the entrance. The building was extravagant, bedazzled in colourful lights. In front of the building was an LED figure of a woman holding what seemed to be a weighing scale. On one end, a rope was attached, leading down the letters 'W I N'.

Sae frowned, remembering her interrogation of Akira. When it came to her palace, he spoke of the Casino exterior. The lights. The frequent theme of luck, cheating and winning. There was no doubt in her mind. They were starting with her palace.

It was quite laughable. To think that this game would start with their latest heist. And then she thought about.

She hummed next to Sojiro, "Perhaps they're doing this In Media Res." The man raised an eyebrow, inquiring. "Kurusu-kun told me of my own palace. He said that it was a Casino. It goes without saying, but this is my palace. Where he was captured..." She bit her lip. "Perhaps my interrogation of him will send us back to the start. It makes sense to do it now than to do it again later."

Sojiro smirks, folding his arms and leaning back. "Of course you'd work that out from less than ten seconds." He chuckles. "I'd expect nothing less from you." Sae quirks a smile at the response. But then, Sojiro frowns. "He was arrested here?" He asks despite him knowing the answer. "Then that means..."

Sojiro remembers when Sae dropped Akira in LeBlanc. The kid was moaning, whimpering. He'd never seen him like that before. Even with all the dangerous stuff that he has done in the metaverse, his time in custody had done more than ever. The thought was terrifying.

Slowly, the screen panned into a window, music piling up. At a loud and sudden beat in the song, a man's hand comes crashing down onto a pile of chips, knocking them all down. The screen shows his and his partner's anxious face. As the music picks up, the screen shows the many other guests, looking around in a panic as a figure jumps in a blur all around them. A woman turns, eyes wide.

Yusuke, in an attempt to lighten the mood, smiles softly. "They seem to be quite apprehensive of the coming events." Akira pauses, looking over to Yusuke. Some of the students and teachers groan at yet another interruption. "I guess you have that kind of effect on people, real or not." He looks at Akira's slightly flushed face. "We can never guess what's on your mind. In a way, it's quite beautiful."

Haru giggles, "I have to agree with you on this one, Yu." She leans in, body relaxing slightly. "Our leader is quite unreadable."

Morgana scoffed, a smirk in his tone. "Of course! That is why his name is Joker, our trump card! If we can't read his mind, our enemies don't stand a chance!"

Ryuji grins, catching onto the plan. "Duh! Have you seen him in combat? Even before the whole forming the Pha -- the group, Aki was always a..." He frowned. "Whad'ya call it? Stra - Strategist? Yeah, a strategist!"

Futaba snorts, "Wow. I guess there is a reason your called Skull and not Brain." Ignoring Ryuji's outraged cries, Futaba smiles at her older brother figure. "He's right though, Kiki. Even with my persona, I can't figure you out."

"Okay, okay," Makoto says, smiling to herself. " We should continue. No more exploding Aki for now."

True to her words, Akira's face was as red as a cherry. But the scene was completely and utterly adorable. His hand came up to his face, covering his mouth and nose as he, undoubtedly, pouts.

Futaba sneaks a picture as the others busy themselves with calming their blushes. Morgana, uncomfortable in the middle of the harem, lightly paws Akira's undamaged thigh. "C'mon, Akira. Let's continue."

"You're quite loved." Arsene chuckles, snapping Akira out of his state. "But you should continue this game. Remind yourself of the benefits." Taking a deep breath, Akira hits a button to unpause.

A man is shown as he backs up, eyes searching the place as the figure leaps behind him. "There's something here."

Yumehara snorts, "No, really? What gave that away?"

Her friend, Yukari, hums mockingly. "Why, I'm not so sure. Perhaps it was the guy running around? Who knows?"

Takeda buzzes. "But seriously, who can move that quickly?" He grins. "This is so cool!"

Himura raises an eyebrow. "We've just started, dude. Calm down."

Amidst the panic, three security officers walk out of an open door. They scan around. The figure is shown leaping up before finally halting atop a chandelier. Their lower body is shown as he crouches. They pull themselves up, their jacket flowing in the wind as they hold onto the cable holding the light source.

Ryuji gasps. "Wait--!" He yells, pushing his torso upon. Akira pauses again, much to everyone else's dismay. Ryuji turns to Akira. "Aki, you do know how Ann, RuRu and Mako feel!" Eyes wide, he points to the screen. "You wear heels!"

To his side, Yusuke gasps as he too leans forward. "Ryu is right... I cannot believe I missed such a detail!"

The girls suddenly find even more reason to respect their leader. Ann sniffed, wiping away a comical tear. "I can't believe it...! You understand our pain!"

Haru places a hand on her heart, a smile on her lips. "To think the day would come that a male understood the pain of fighting in heels."

Makoto reaches over and places a hand on Akira's shoulder. "We thank you, Aki. You truly are a blessing."

Akira nods to the girls and then grumbles to himself, or, well, Arsene. "Shut it, Arsene..." And yet Arsene continues to laugh at his expense. "I see where your loyalty lies..." Glaring at nothing, Akira unpauses.

It pans up to reveal the figure's upper body. His red gloved hands were occupied, one holding the cable, the other supporting the briefcase at his side.

Catcalls. Everywhere. From boys and girls alike.

Yumehara fans herself. "Wow. I would definitely tap that."

Another girl whistles, "Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ."

Chihaya giggles as Ohya raises her eyebrows repeatedly in a suggestive manner. "Wowie." She grins. "I wouldn't mind me some of that." It's obvious that she's joking. It was her way to get a rise out of the ever so composed Makoto Niijima and Yusuke Kitagawa. It was practically the only way she knew how. The others were all too easy.

To her delight, Makoto and Yusuke both, simultaneously, turn to glare at the laughing woman. They knew that she held no interest for the younger boy, but it still pissed them off to no end.

The other thieves were all busy attempting to console themselves as to not... accidentally injure any of their classmates. Ann laughed at her friends and at the blushing Akira. They were all so easy.

Akechi bowed his head, hiding his face. He did have to admit that his short-term leader was marginally attractive. Marginally.

A man from the crowd points up the male, "Hey, up there!"

The screen shows the three men as people panic around them. "He's here. Move in immediately."

It shows the male once more in a side profile as he smirks down at the men, eyes amused past his domino mask. He turns around, the screen showing him as he leaps off, the chandelier barely moving. The screen turns black.

"UGH!" Naomi, a student from 2-D, yells, "Why is he so COOL!?" She slaps her hands onto her face, sinking into the couch. Her friend from 2-B, Rumi, places a consoling hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Naomi. We all get it."

The screen comes back on, jazz music playing in the background. The man jumps onto a floating platform, hexagons forming it. A speech bubble comes up labelled as 'boyish voice'. "Good. Now get running!"

Morgana haughtily laughs as he recognises his voice. He turns to a disgruntled Ryuji. "Oh ho? What's this? The first thief, besides Joker, to show up is me? Just goes to show how awesome I am!"

Ryuji grumbles. "Shut it, Mona! That doesn't mean shit!"

Finally, annoyed by the conversations with a cat of all things, Takemi questions it. "You do realise that you're talking to a cat, right?"

Morgana hisses. "I am not a cat!" He yells but all it sounds like to 99% of the room was meowing.

Makoto is the one to speak up. "I believe it will be explained at a later point of the game, but I will provide a basic explanation." She shifts her body to look at a good majority of the room. "Morgana, the cat, can talk, however, he can only communicate in an alternate dimension. Once you register that he can talk like a human, you are able to hear him in real life. Call it a change of cognition."

This seemed to satisfy Takemi more than Sae and Sojiro's half-baked and tangled up one as she relaxes against her seat, huffing for good measure. But most were still confused, not quite understanding.

Another boy's voice rang, "This is our only chance."

The occupants gasped, recognising the voice. They turned to a frowning Akechi. "A-AKECHI-KUN!?" He bites back a scowl and smiles sheepishly.

"Yes, well, I did team up with the Phantom Thieves. In return, they were to surrender themselves."

A girl swooned, hand on her forehead. "I knew that he would never betray us."

Some, who were more on the Phantom Thieves' side, glared. "I don't see why they should turn themselves in." One said. "They're heroes."

Mishima nodded enthusiastically. They saved them. They saved the volleyball team and everyone else at the school who could have potentially been on Kamoshida's radar.

Akechi, still keeping up appearances, frowned. "As I said before, whilst what they are aiming for is not necessarily wrong, their methods are anything but."

The Phantom's turn their heads to hide their scowls and glares. To think that he still has the guts to keep up his charade. Not for long though. Not for long...

A girl spoke up, voice energetic. "Stay calm! You can get away now!"

A calmer, more mature girl spoke next, "We'll retrieve the briefcase on our end."

The student body sputtered. "Nijima-senpai!?" Makoto sank, covering the blush on her face.

Sae chuckled, noting to tease her on this later.

"I can't believe it..."

"And here I thought she was a goody-two-shoes."

"No fair! Why does the Student Council President get to hang out with the cool guys!"

Ryuji frowned. Who cares whether or not she's the student council president? Who cares if she follows the rules? "You're as badass as they come." He grumbles. Makoto hears though and blushes even more.

"Th-thanks, Ryu." Jolting slightly, Ryuji looks down at Makoto. He grins widely.

"No problem, Mako!"

A speech bubble labelled 'Mysterious Transmission' popped up. "... suspects... not... confirmed... hold... your... positions..."

The energetic voice piped up again, her voice low. "Hmm...? What was that...?"

The boyish voice came back, "Don't worry about us. Just concentrate on getting away!"

Rumi bounces her leg, "Wow. This is getting even more exciting!"

Takeda grins. "I know right! I wonder what's happening."

Naomi groaned. "Uugghh. I just want to know what's in the briefcase. And who the leader of the notorious Phantom Thieves is."

When Akira hit 'x', he was granted permission to control his in-game self. Fiddling about with the controls, he ran around before finally going to the edge and jumping with the x-button.

The boyish voice speaks. This time, his speech showed up in the corner. "But I have to say, showing yourself above that crowd earlier was an excellent move. Good work as always, Joker." Akira stilled his character as he waited for the others to speak.

Yumiko hummed. "So his name is Joker, huh? Or at least, his codename."

Naomi shrugged. "Must be the leader. If only he would speak. Then we'd know."

A feminine, teasing voice played in the corner. Akira walked Joker as slow as possible. "I bet skull wouldn't pull it off that smoothly."

Takeda jolted. "Takamaki!?" Himura shared in his surprise, as did a lot of the second year. "No way!"

Ann laughed sheepishly. She turned around and stuck her tongue out with a childish wink. "Oops?"

Shiho giggled into her fist, not minding the many people swooning over her girlfriend. It was fine as long as Ann didn't swoon over anyone else. And she knew that Ann would never do that.

Akira jumped onto the top ledge of a decoration. He jumped to the bottom one and leapt across to another LED platform. A sophisticated, male voice spoke, "This happens because he has no sense of aesthetics."

Ryuji flushed and glared playfully. "Shut it, Yu."

Yusuke smiled, "Apologies, Ryu."

A brash voice defended himself, "Nobody asked you, Inari!"

Nakaoka choked. "Sakamoto!?"

Takeshi yelled out in disbelief. Ryuji grumbled, rubbing his head. "You really surprised?"

The two deflated, unable to argue against his words. "Can't argue there."

"You have a point."

As Joker got to the centre of a curved platform, agents from either side of him spotted him. "There he is!" One yelled. Joker faced the platforms in front of him.

The energetic voice yelled out, "Just run! Get out of here!"

Futaba listened to herself. Part of that was probably desperation. Not just acting. She really wanted him to escape everything, including the plan. Because she knew that Akira wouldn't come out of the interrogation room unscathed. And she hated that she was right.

Seeing Akira in the condition that he was in made her heart drop. She always hated cliches. So how come her older brother always saved her. The older sibling protecting the younger sibling... How repetitive. So repetitive it hurts. One day, she will pay him back. She promises. She's already added it to her promise list after all.

"Okay, the enemy's focus is on him. Looks like the rest of us can slip away." The boyish voice assured.

A sweet, female voice sounded. "Does everyone remember where we're meeting up?"

"It can't be..."

"O-Okumura-senpai...?"

"Not fair!"

"Why do all the cute girls get the hot guys? What about us, man?"

Haru frowned, leaning into Akira. It shouldn't really affect her. She earned her right to be with the Phantom Thieves. But still, to have people in disbelief that she is part of the Phantom Thieves hurt.

Morgana climbed onto Haru's lap, snuggling in. "Don't listen to them, Haru. They're just shocked that someone so nice is part of a now-deemed criminal organisation."

Smiling, Haru pets Morgana's head. Akira smiles at her. "They're all morons. You're one of our strongest members after all." That made her day a whole lot better. She'd always thought that she was the least strong physical attacker. After all, Ryuji, Makoto and Yusuke were on their team. And God knows that they hit hard. But to hear such a thing come out of her leader's mouth? It felt like she was flying.

"No worries." The energetic voice said. "I can guide you all out."

Joker leapt across the platforms with grace. At the end of the platforms, he jumped, latching onto the floor of the area above him. He swung up, landing on the carpet. Another cutscene took place. Joker sped ahead, aiming for the stairs, only for two guards to cut off his path. Joker halted. Their bodies spasmed before turning into two mask-wearing guards with a bulkier build.

"Eek!" A girl yelled. "What the hell is that!?"

"Ew!" A boy squirmed. "That looks so weird!"

Rumi pouted. "I dunno. It looked kinda cool."

Sojiro sighed. What the hell do his charge and his daughter deal with inside that other world?

The screen showed Joker as he stood straight. Another guard appeared behind him, landing on the ground with a loud thud. Joker turned to look. The screen showed his smirking face.

"Well, hi there."

"Dude!" Her friend slapped her shoulder. "There are more pressing matters! That thing is going to fight him!"

"Oh... right..."

"Ugh!" She pulled on her hair. "You horny bitch."

Pouting, she glares at her friend. "Can you blame me? This man can make any guy go gay! Or any girl go straight for that matter!"

Himura nods. "Can confirm."

Akira cringes. As does Futaba. "TMI... TMI..."

Once again, the energetic girl speaks, "Take 'em down Joker!" Joker leaps into the air, landing on the monster's shoulders, hand grasping the mask. A grin on his face, he tears the mask off and shoves the thing away. Black encapsulates its body as it bows. Its body begins to mutate, streaks of red entering its body. It growls, body bending backwards as blood spews from it.

The students scream, panic flooding the room.

Iwai stares at the screen, watching as the humanoid figure mutates, in horrid fascination. He's never really believed in the supernatural. But this just might change his mind. How often do you see something so grotesque, after all?

Sae frowns. She couldn't believe it. Her heart created such horrifying beasts. It formed these ruthless, inhumane creatures. If someone told her that she was capable of such feats two weeks ago, she would have them in a mental asylum for fear they'd gone mad. But she couldn't deny it. Not after hearing Akira's story and certainly not after seeing it now.

Red and black worked together in a flurry, growing taller and taller until it was all wiped away. A robotic monster stood before Joker, roaring loudly. The scene ripped apart to show a more RPG-esque scene. Joker stood a good length away from the robot thing, dagger at the ready.

Ann whooped, scaring and gaining the attention of many. "First battle!"

Ryuji punched the air. "Let's go! Joker's got this!"

Akira deadpanned, "You do know that it probably won't work how it's usually done. This is a game, after all." He said, choosing his words carefully. His identity as Joker will probably be revealed, but he wanted everyone to be clueless for just a little while longer.

Ryuji and Ann settled down with a pout. "Right..."

"Forgot about that... Hey, shut it, Taisei."

The energetic voice hummed. "Comparing power levels... No threat. Get 'em, Joker!"

Akira hits triangle, summoning his persona.

"Oh?" Arsene grinned. "It seems that I am being utilized."

Akira smiled. He liked using Arsene. He was a great help, both in the metaverse and in the real world.

"Wh-What is that...?"

"He looks cool!"

"What's a... persona...?"

"Shut up and watch, idiot. You can get your answers that way."

Akira scrolled down, selecting Brave Blade. Arsene spun. He held his arm out as a slice of energy struck the Sacrificial Pyrokeeper. It showed to take off 180 health points from the thing.

"Woah!" Takeda yelled. "Himura! Did you see that!?" He turned to his friend, eyes sparkling.

Amused, Himura nodded slowly. "Yes, Takeda. I did. I think that we all did."

Pouting, Takeda flicked him. "Shut up, idiot."

Morgana tensed. "Oh no..." Futaba bows her head in remorse.

Makoto, knowing what was on their mind, bit her lip. "This is bad."

Catching on, Yusuke frowned, closing his eyes. "Indeed."

Ann hummed. "What? Why? Joker took down half on his health."

Ryuji and Haru were also confused as they stared at the four. Akira sighed. "Do you remember what Kawakami-sensei announced before the stary of the game?"

They thought about it. She asked who wanted to play. She also said who it was based upon. And she also...

Ann paled. "No..."

Haru's grip tightened. "Aki..."

Ryuji's hand clenched into a fist. "This is bullshit...!"

Bracing himself, Akira turned to the screen. If only he hit a crit.

A small box appeared on the left-hand side, the word 'Agidyne' written in it.

Ann pales. As does Yusuke. They both know how much damage it can do.

A pillar of flames sprouts underneath Joker. He gasps sharply, clicking his tongue at the attack.

"Master!" Arsene cries.

Akira's breath hitches as he clutches onto the controller. His body locks into place as he forces down a cry of pain. It felt like his body was on fire - obviously. Pins and needles stabbed into him, pulling out and thrusting back in. It hurt. It hurt so much more than in the MetaVerse. Why? Why was that the case?

Makoto shuts her eyes, a frown on her face as she refuses to look at Akira's scrunched up face that screamed he was in pain. "There's no adrenaline..." She says albeit reluctantly.

"...What?" Yusuke questions, his voice low.

She expands. "Usually, when we take the brunt of those attacks, there's adrenaline in our system... It lowers the pain. Without, all of that pain come in... full throttle."

Futaba looks just about ready to cry. It breaks their heart to see the little sister of the group this way.

Akira groans. "S'fine..." He pulls himself up, settling his face. "I've had... worse..." It's the truth. He's not lying. And that's the horrible part about it.

"That does not mean it hurts any less, foolish master." Arsene scolds, unhappy with the Trickster.

"Akira..." Morgana sags, obviously concerned for his leader.

Sae and Sojiro exchange concerned looks. They didn't forget that there's some sort of pain factor linked in with this. An attack like that must have hurt a lot. Even if the kid has dealt with it before, it must be hell to go through.

Takemi grimaced. She too had not forgotten about the inherited pain. Her little guinea pig is hurting. And she can't do anything about it. She's a doctor! And she can't even help a teenage boy! Nothing. Not even numb the pain with some sort of anaesthetic.

With shaky hands, Akira hits x. Joker dashes forward with his knife, slashing down twice before jumping back and pulling out his pistol. He shoots twice. The Sacrificial Pyrokeeper explodes in a burst of black, his health-heart shattering.

"Okay, pull out before backup gets there."

"THAT WAS SO COOL!"

"OH MY GOD!"

"THAT'S SICK!"

"Are you okay...?" Ann asks, ignoring the excited yells of everyone else. Akira nods shakily.

Yusuke frowns. "You needn't withhold your pain. As I am personally weak to fire, I know how fire attacks burn."

Akira frowns, urging his breathing to settle. "Thanks, Yu. But I mean it. I'm fine. The worst... is yet to come." He avoids his lovers' and friends' gaze and continues on with the game.

"Good! You defeated them with ease!" The boyish voice cheers.

The energetic girl yells, "More of them!? Be careful!" On cue, three monsters appear. Joker crouches as the one closest to him raise an electric baton. Just as it struck, Joker jumped out of the way. As soon as he landed, he backflipped onto a pillar and flipped once more onto an overhang.

Morgana heaves a heavy sigh of relief. "Too close..." Ryuji could share the feeling. Being hit with a zio spell is bad on its own but being hit by an electric baton? That would do more than shock you.

Takeda is buzzing, shaking Himura back and forth as he gushes. He's not the only one though. A whole lot of people are doing the same, ranting about how cool and suave Joker is.

"Joker, behind you! Go through that door!" Akira turns Joker around and runs through the open doors. The new scene shows him in some sort of ventilation room with large, cages pipes. "You should be able to head out that way! Hurry!"

Skull grumbles, "Dude, can he even hear us?"

"Don't worry." The girl assured. "I'm picking up everyone's voices. Just go, Joker!"

"Go!" Naomi yelled.

"Get out of there!" A boy urges.

"Run for your life!"

Shiho chuckles, looking at the boy who saved the love of her life. "Looks like you're gaining some followers, Akira-kun."

He smiles at her, "It seems I have." Not for much longer, though. Once they find out who Joker actually is, they'd probably regret everything nice they said about him. Without a doubt.

"I wouldn't be so quick to decide so, young one."

Akira moved Joker forward, turning to where he knew the door was, from both experience and the mini-map. As Joker went down the stairs, the area on the map turned white as opposed to red. He turned to another door and ran down there, ducking when he saw an officer. Joker pushed the door open and ran. He stopped when he saw an officer outside the window.

"Oh no!"

"Crap."

"Hide, Joker!"

Kawakami raised an eyebrow, wondering exactly when they cared about Akira. But then she remembered that they hadn't figured out Joker's identity and grimaced. When they did find out, it wasn't going to be pretty. She saw how people treated Akira. All the farfetched rumours hadn't gone unnoticed. Not even by her. And if she was right, the students would curse the fact that they thought anything good about the renowned transfer student.

"Where'd they go!? Dammit...!" The agent looked around. "I can't confirm the intruder's location." As the agent ran away, Joker was shown to be hiding behind a storage locker.

"Oh thank God..."

"Lucky." Himura sang.

Ann smiled as she heard Yusuke breathe a small sigh of relief. The thief knew that Joker wasn't captured there, yet he still held his breath in anticipation. It made her wonder if Yusuke forgot that it's a game based on true events.

Joker turned the corner, pausing abruptly at both the agent waiting and the energetic girl's voice. "Up ahead! Stop!"

A shy girl raises her hand as if in a lesson. "Um, excuse me?" Makoto turns around, as does Akira and Ann. "I can't see what had been said, and the girl doesn't seem to have said what has been written. Can you read it out loud?"

Futaba huffs. "It can't be helped." She turns around. "O-Okay! Then we'll read out o-our own d-d-dialogue unless you can't s-see it!" Taking a shaky breath, Futaba read it exactly how she remembers she said it. "Up ahead! Stop!"

"Wait..."

"Does that mean...?"

"Oh my god, she's adorable."

"She's part of the Phantom Thieves!?"

Joker seemed surprised, a white exclamation mark hovering over his head.

A girl snickers. "Snake..." Overhearing, a boy laughs boisterously, clutching the sides of his stomach. The girl who made the comment throws him an incredulous look. "It's not that funny, geez."

"This is bad. Hide, Joker!" Obeying her orders, Joker jumps behind a storage block.

Takeda splutters. "No way! That was epic!"

"'Epic'?" Yumehara raises an eyebrow. "Who says 'epic' anymore?"

"Shut it, Yumehara!" Takeda yells, a blush on his face. "You can't deny that it was cool!"

"I didn't say that, moron!" She bites. "I just said that 'epic' is a stupid, unused word!"

"You'll never get away if you just keep fighting. Hide in the shadows and sneak past when you see an opening!" Akira hits 'x' as soon as the option comes up, smirking as Joker manoeuvred through the shadows, leaping from storage block to storage block until he landed on the one closest to the door, blending in with the shadows.

Naomi groaned. "That's some serious big dick energy."

Rumi flusters. "NOAMI! YOU DON'T JUST SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT!"

"Why not?" She questions. "It's the truth! Don't tell me that you look at him and don't think that he's a total dom!"

Ryuji grins, Yusuke smirks. They look at Akira who has ducked his head, blushing to his ears. An evil gleam in his eyes, Ryuji throws himself back, arms resting on top of the sofa. He looks towards the two girl's direction.

"Actually, Joker's a switch."

"RYU!" Makoto elbows Ryuji's ribs, glaring at him through a blush. She grits her teeth in embarrassment as the boy laughs his head off, clutching his probably bruised ribs.

Meanwhile, the student body is in chaos.

"WHAT!?"

"NO WAY!"

"THAT HOT PEACE OF ASS IS A GODDAMN SWITCH!?"

"HOW - HOW DOES SAKAMOTO KNOW!?"

Anxious, Futaba pokes Akira's still body. "A-Akira?" She mutters. "E-Earth to Akira...?" Futaba jolts as Akira exhales sharply. "Uh oh..."

Akira turns his head to Ryuji, a poisonous glare on his face. Ryuji yelps, scooting away.

Haru, a small, miniature blush on her face, looks at Ryuji with her own death glare.

Akira's glare sharpens. "You better watch out, Ryu..." Ryuji gulps, fear in his eyes. Fuck. If that glare wasn't aimed at him, it would be a total turn-on.

Yusuke clears his throat, his mind wandering to the same thought. He crosses his legs as he attempts to hide his problem. Kink: unlocked.

Ann laughs at Yusuke, knowing exactly why he seemed uncomfortable. "Hey, hey, Yusuke." She leans in, feeling a bit generous. "Mara."

Yusuke shivers, a mixture of relief and disgust flowing through his body. He uncrosses his legs and glares pitifully at Ann. "Why must you do this to me, Ann?" Once again, Ann laughs.

Akechi fights a creeping blush, unaware that the thieves had done such... activities. And purely for the sake of blackmail (nothing else, he promises), he wonders how Akira is in bed. For blackmail purposes.

Fed up, Sae forced down the blush on her face and yells as loud as she can, "OKAY! ENOUGH!" In an instant, the gym quietens down. "Kurusu-kun. If you will."

Glare slowly leaving Ryuji, Akira continues the game.

The agent scans around. "... Hey, are you sure he went this way?"

"Umm..." The people at the back frown. No one is speaking. Well, no one here is the guard. But still, they can't see the speech bubble.

"I'll do it," Himura says. He clears his throat, making it as deep as it can go. "Hey, are you sure he went this way?" Takeda snickers.

"Understood. I will continue the search!" With that, the agent ran off. Joker came out of the shadows.

"... Still can't believe he takes..."

"Shut--!"

"Now's your chance! Run for the stairs!"

Futaba pouted, wondering how many times she will have to read the speech for her own character. It was unfair. Then again, the others will have to do the same... Hopefully. If not, she will revolt.

Joker printed up the stairs - another cut scene played.

Akira sighed, placing the controller down. He looked around pointedly; he's not going to pause this time. That means no talking. No arguing. No distractions. At all.

It showed Joker as he peeked around the corner. Suspenseful music played as he sprinted to the edge of a window. He peeked inside, watching as the men tried to do everything to capture him.

The leader yells into a phone. "He's not alone! Find them and kill them all!"

Ann frowned. She knew they were trying to kill them, she was there after all. But still. Akira distracted them in spite of it all. He led them to him even though they were aiming to kill. And when he wasn't killed on sight, he was captured and... and tortured! It... It wasn't fair. At all.

Shiho, seeing her unease, placed a hand on Ann's thigh and sent a disarming smile. She spoke through that smile. 'It's not your fault', the smile said. 'You couldn't have done anything to change his mind.'

Ann felt the tears building up. She smiled gratefully at her girlfriend. Still, it didn't diffuse the guilt in her heart.

Unnoticed, Joker runs past. The screen shows the three men in black running down some stairs. At the same time, Joker runs up a set. The three men are shown as the sprint past the window. One, however, pauses, looking at the opposite direction. Joker is shown running up the stairs. The three men run up the same set of stairs Joker was previously running up. The screen shows Joker as he runs down the corridors. The men run up the stairs.

Makoto frowns. This was just moments before Joker was captured and imprisoned. They were unable to do anything. Anything. They could only follow the stupid plan. And they didn't even know if it would work. For all they knew, Akira could have been shot for real. And they would think it was all part of the plan. They would be waiting for Akira to show up in LeBlanc, that cocky smirk on his face as he claims that he's a ghost. But he would never show up. How long would they wait to see him, she wondered. How long would they wait for him to come home?

Without thinking, Makoto grasps Ryuji's hand. It wouldn't do to be so upset now. She should wait until later. Then she can get mad. Or upset. Whichever works.

Joker is shown sprinting ahead, pushing the door open. He runs forward, stopping at the fencing. The camera shows the hole in the floor and the sea of people.

"Something wrong?" The excited voice asks. "The exit should be up ahead."

Futaba feels relief when she doesn't have to read anything aloud. But then she feels grief. A few more seconds, Akira would be standing in front of the building, guns and lights pointed at him. One more minute, he'd be in police custody, cuffs on his wrists. And, maybe an hour or two later, he'd be in the interrogation room, subject to torture and truth serums. In two days, Sae would be pressing him on the cases, relentless in her probing. And in two days and an hour, Akechi would press a gun against Akira's head and shoot, oblivious to the fact that he'd been fooled.

Joker looks up, the camera following. It shows the stained glass window. "Through there...?"

"DAMMIT!" Himura yells, suddenly. Many jolts. The room had been completely silent just before. "Too small... Who is this guy...?"

Takeda elbows him with a glare. "If you shut up, we can figure it out, idiot."

"Nnh. That's just how it is!" She says. "After that commotion, the bottom floor is--" She's cut off.

"Completely closed off." The mature, feminine voice said. "Hey, can you make it?" Joker smirks.

Ryuji scowls. Of course, he's smirking. When his life is in danger, he's smirking. And not just because of those guys, also because of what will happen when he's inevitably captured. The guy still smirked. And Ryuji hates that it calms his nerves somewhat. To see that expression on his leader's face. He trusts him. And that smirk always screamed 'I know what I'm doing'. But he didn't. Not in this case. Nobody knew how he'd be treated in that blasted interrogation room. And they'd basically handed him to the shitty adults.

"Over there!" A guard yelled. Joker turned to see the three agents pointing their guns at him. It showed the three men from behind as they slowly advanced. The screen changed to show Joker standing with a smirk. With a small humph, he placed his hand on the railing and pushed himself up.

"What's he doing!?"

"Oh my God!"

"Is he insane!?"

Haru frowned. It was an insane move. Running across the railings and jumping through the glass whilst the men shot at him. That could have gotten him killed. Forget the danger of Akechi, it would have been game over if the men had good aim. One bullet is all it takes to end a life. And while their bullets were fake - made from cognition - the men's bullets weren't. God knows what would happen if even one of them lodged themselves into Akira's body. They've never tried using an actual gun in the metaverse. They didn't know what would happen. And thank the lords they never found out.

Joker is shown as he runs along the rails, cutting past the corners. As the three men are shown, guns at the ready, Joker stops in front of the glass. He smirks at the men, "See ya!"

Himura scowls, "Again..." He looks to the front where the now-known-thieves are with Shiho, the blue-haired guy and Akira. And he almost slaps himself in the face for his stupidity. "Of course..." It makes sense.

With that, Joker jumps through the window, shards of glass flying around him. The screen shows him as he manoeuvres through the air, the moon shining in the background.

"What a showoff, " The teasing voice pouts. "You're so reckless, you know that?"

"Indeed..." Yusuke murmurs, face scrunching up in guilt. Their leader was reckless. Terrifyingly so. Even though he knew that his time in the interrogating room wouldn't be the best, he still sacrificed himself. What kind of person would do that? Yusuke frowned. A self-sacrificial one. A person who had people to protect. Their leader. He did all that for the sake of the Phantom Thieves. It was stupid. And reckless. And poetic.

Joker landed, rolling into a crouch. The shattered glass landed around him. He stood. As soon as he did, he was attacked by lights.

Morgana nestled into Akira's lap. This was it. Akira was going to be captured by those bastards. The damage done to him can never be undone. Every night, Akira would jolt awake, eyes wide with terror. The first night, Morgana coerced him into talking. The second night, Morgana awoke to him on the phone to Ryuji. Every night, it was one of the thieves. It was never the same persona twice in a row, but Morgana heard most, if not, all of the conversations. Night four was when they started to report to each other. Akira was scarred, mentally and physically.

"Enemies, here!? These readings... It can't be!"

"What's wrong!?"

"What happened!?"

"An ambush!?"

"Joker, can you handle this!?"

Evidently, no. Sae frowned. His state when she came in was far from okay. Bruises everywhere. Cuts. Broken ribs. The start of a fever... You name it. She just hoped that his experience wouldn't be shown. He doesn't need to relive that pain... But life is ever so cruel.

"Joker!"

A man was shown shouting, "Capture him!" On cue, Joker ran with armed men running after him. Joker leapt, catching himself on a red ladder and swinging himself up. As he climbed, he sent a cocky laugh to the men.

Morgana frowned. "You probably would've gotten off better if you didn't try to escape like that..."

"I had to, " Akira mumbled. "Surrendering myself would be suspicious." Especially with Akechi watching. The leader of the Phantom Thieves giving himself in? Yeah, right.

But as he reached the top, a group of SWATs were waiting.

"WHAT!?"

"NO!"

"RUN, JOKER!"

"Where, moron!? There's nowhere to go...! And plus - he's dead, right? That's what the news said..."

"Don't trust those scum!"

One of them pulled their gun and struck down on Joker, causing him to fall into the crowd of SWATs.

Akira flinched at the sudden, dull pain on his shoulder. Thank God, it wasn't his face. He already took a good beating on it.

Haru bit her lip, anger forming on her face. They others may not have noticed Akira flinch, but she did. She wondered where he was hit; the game didn't show. She needed to know. Then, she can inflict twice, thrice the amount of pain on the culprit. She was sure the others would lend a hand. Or a fist. Or a foot. Maybe even a gun.

Joker was shown, a man restraining him, pushing his body onto the concrete. A man walked up, "Didn't expect to find some kid." He crouched down, "You have your teammate to thank for this." The man grabbed Joker's hair, pulling it up to look in his eyes. "You were sold out."

"WHAT!?"

"NU-UH! NO WAY!"

"I'm in the midst of a hitlist. I gotta kill a bitch."

"But, who was it though?"

Ann watched as Akira feigned a look of surprise. Since when was he so good at acting? Maybe he was projecting his feelings when he realised. Even so, they accepted Akechi with the knowledge of him being the Black Mask. So why did Akira's surprise look so real?

Joker struggled as one of the men pulled his arm up, "Suspect confirmed." Another said. "Cuff him!" The cuffs clicked around his wrist.

Akira subconsciously rolled his shoulder. Futaba frowned. It was soon. That is how games work. They skip ahead in time. The torture that Akira had to go through... They would have to watch it. Akira would have to endure it. All over again.

At the very least, they know what to do when they find those men. Do the exact same, but worse.

The screen shut black with a loud thud. It turned back on, showing a side profile of Akira holding a string of characters with a flash.

"Y-You're kidding..."

"That... That cool son of a bitch is the transfer!?"

"This sucks..."

"I can't believe I called him hot..."

"I KNEW IT!" Takeda jumped up, pointing an accusatory finger at Akira. The person in question jolted slightly and looked at him shyly. "I f... FREAKING KNEW IT!" Himura sent a Takeda a weird look, questioning his sanity. "That explains why you stopped coming to school after the leader of the Phantom Thieves was announced to be dead! Oh my God, it all makes sense now...!"

Himura hummed, leaning back on the couch. "Well, it was obvious. Especially when you look at who actually is a phantom thief. And they all seemed really concerned when Joker was hit with that attack." He grimaced, suddenly remembering the pain factor. How can anyone survive taking the brunt of a pillar of flames?

Takemi chuckled. "It seems we're not the only ones who figured it out, Kurusu-kun."

Akira rubbed the back of his neck, a small blush on his face. "Well, now the entire school knows, so..."

"Wait --" Naomi paled, standing up from her seat. "Dude, are you okay? I mean, you got hit with that fire attack... That's gotta hurt, right? 'Specially with the pain factor stuff."

Akira sighed, turning and falling onto the couch. "I mean, yeah. Just a small burn hurts, but that was a pillar of flames..." He grumbled, hand clenching around the controller. "But, as I said to the others, the worst is yet to come."

"... Shit, dude. What the hell?" Naomi bit her lip. She was always a bit awkward around him, not really knowing what to say or do. Especially since she didn't really like him (to say the least). Well, no one really did but Ann (and that was only like a few days later). He was the transfer student. What the hell could be worse than getting burnt with a goddamn pillar of flames? What the hell did the transfer student go through?

"On another note..." Himura pulled Takeda back into his seat. "You really a switch?" Ryuji burst out laughing. Yusuke turned his head to hide his snickers. Akira sank, hiding his cherry-red face. "How did you know, Sakamoto?"

Ryuji wiped a comical tear. "How'd you think?"

"Shut it, Ryu." Akira glares, "I may be a switch, but your a sub, even if I do take from you." This time, it was Ryuji's turn to blush.

"OHH SHIT!"

"CALLED OUT!"

"How does that work?"

"Basically, he's in control even though he's being fucked."

"Oohhhh."

"Can we stop talking about this?"

A vein-popping, Makoto stood, her face red. "Enough!" She turned around, a deadly glare on her face - one that the Nijima bloodline would be proud of if it weren't for the blush on her face. Even so, it still scared the entire student body into silence. "Yes. Yes, Aki's a switch. Ryu's a sub. Yu's a dom. Ruru's a dom. I'm a switch. Who cares!?" She yelled, the influence of Anat surfacing.

"Y-You're a--"

"Shut up, dude."

Makoto deflated, eyebrows furrowing. She bit her lip. "There are more... pressing matters at the moment..." Such as the abuse Akira will go through.

Sae nodded, a solemn look on her face. "She's right. What you are about to be shown is no laughing matter..." She turns to a frowning Akira. "Are you up for it?" There's a moment of complete silence. Akira nods. "Very well... you can give the controller to another at any time..." Sae shifted in her seat. "Continue."

He was shown on his other side. And then, he was shown glaring at the camera, ID plate in front of him. The screen faded to black.

Akira shifted, anxiety eating away at him. He needed to continue. To go throw the torment again. But it wasn't that easy. Every night he relived it. And now, he was reliving it all over again. At the very least, he has the others here with him. He's not alone.

"I'm glad that you remember, " Arsene chimes in, "Don't ever forget."

The screen faded to show a syringe discarded on the floor.

Akira gasped dropping the controller, the floor hitting square. He bowed forward, eyes wide as he bit back a scream. His hands clung to his stomach, a luxury he was never allowed in that room.

"Master!" Once again, Arsene's voice rings out in alarm.

Pain. Pain pain pain pain. Pain. Everywhere. It clung to every muscle. He could feel the bruises on his bones, the ache in his neck, the throbbing wherever the needles punctured. He could feel his bones fracture and scream at him. It was the only way he could describe it. Excruciatingly painful.

The eight of them jumped as they heard the controller hit the ground. In an instant, the thieves plus Shiho were by him, fretting over Akira.

Futaba felt her eyes prick as Akira let out shaky breaths, whimpering with each one. Never in her life, has she seen him like this. He's sounded worse whenever he had called her after a nightmare. But he's never looked like this.

A rock in her stomach, Makoto spoke, "What's wrong? Is it your ribs? Your stomach? Your head?"

Groaning, Akira shook his head. "Ev... Everything..."

"Be specific!" Arsene scolds through gritted teeth.

Takemi ran next to him, crouching down. "Kurusu-kun? Can you tell me what they did...? If your ribs aren't hurting the most, I imagine that this is before they broke it... What did they do to you?"

Akira shifted, though that only worsened his state. He yelped, gritting his teeth. Taking deep breaths, Akira listed what he could make out from his injuries. "My... my arms and j-jaw are bruised... F-Fractured shoulder... Incisions on... in wrists..." His breath caught in his throat as the tears welled up. He was back in that room. A knee was embedded in his stomach. He was being kicked around. They were punching his face. They were sticking needles in him. They were - They were --

"Master!" Akira's head snapped up at Arsene's voice. "Remember where you are. That place is far away. You're beloveds and your companions are calling for you.

"Aki...?" Ryuji frowned, kneeling down in front of Akira. He was in the middle of a panic attack. I guess it helps that Arsene is living in his head. He must've snapped him out of it.

"Ryu..." His heart broke. He sounded so lost. Like a child. Then again, that's what they are. Children. Nothing more... Nothing less.

Though slightly hesitant, Ryuji wrapped his arms around the trembling boy (as soft as he could) and rubbed his back. Akira stiffened at the touch. But then he relaxed.

"Aki, what did they do to you...?" Yusuke frowned, crouching to meet Akira's eyes.

Takemi glanced away to see Sojiro running to the group. She caught Sojiro's attention. "What the hell happens in that interrogation room?"

Sojiro looked away frowning. He sighed, body slugging forward. "What they did to Akira... is usually preserved for dangerous criminals..." He scratched the back of his nape. "By that, I mean black-listed criminals: terrorists, mass murders, rogue superior officers... A kid isn't meant to go through that stuff... It's torture."

Pushing away the questions his answer raised, Takemi turned back to Akira, watching as he pulled away from Ryuji. "What does it entail...?" She was hesitant to ask. As anyone would be. But she needed to know. She didn't ask before, but the drugs were gone from his system. She can provide painkillers now. They might not do much - she didn't know how this pain factor worked - but it will do something.

Sojiro grumbled, crouching down near her to look over Akira. "To get answers, usually at least one injection of truth serum. But the kid had three... It involves a lot of..." He sighed. "A lot of what many would consider assault. Punching. Kicking. Anything to make them talk. It's -- It's not something that goes on for two days. Usually takes less than one..." Yet his charge had to go through those two days of torture. And the most he could do is wait.

Takemi inhaled sharply. Her little guinea pig had to go through twice the amount of torture an actually dangerous criminal, like a goddamn terrorist, would get. "Kurusu." She pushed past the others, grasping his hands. "I need you to take this." Takemi reached into her coat and pulled out a bottle. "Just one. One when you wake up, one when you fall asleep." She opens his hand and pours out one of the orange pills. "I wasn't sure whether to give you this one or the blue one, but the dosage is stronger in this." Akira takes the bottle off her hands and stores it in his bag. "It will numb the pain as well as slowly nurse the bruises on your bones." Takemi grimaced, standing up. "No matter how much it hurts, only one in the morning, one at night."

"And should your companions not notice, I will." Arsene chides. "Do not forget, foolish master."

Akira nods, gulping down the pill in his hand. Relief washed over him. Takemi really is amazing if her drugs worked just like that. It tasted slightly bitter, but it was well worth it. His body still hurt, but it wasn't on fire. The dull pain in his ribs was gone, but he was sure it'd be back when the man broke it. Still, it was amazing. He looked up at Takemi.

"Thank you..." He didn't mean to mumble, but the pill had its side-effects.

Takemi smiled, "You're welcome, guinea pig." She turned around. "Good luck..." With that, she walked off.

"Akira." Sojiro grimaced, watching as Akira picked up the controller once more. Morgana seemed to protest, hissing and meowing at Akira. "Oi." He growled, taking a step towards him, oblivious to his small flinch. "Let someone else take over. You're as hurt as is."

Akira shook his head. "Do you know... how much guilt is... acquainted with this...?" No. No, he didn't. It's stupid thinking that you're hurting whoever. Sojiro shook his head with a frown. "Fine then. You play it." Akira held the controller out.

It was weird. Just a second ago, he thought that the idea of feeling guilty over a game was stupid. But now that the opportunity is being presented before him, he could feel the weight. By pressing a simple button, he's allowing whoever to experience pain all over again. God, he hated being wrong.

Seeing his hesitation, Akira brought the controller back to his lap. "It's not just this, though. In the metaverse, whoever's playing... will be in control over every... everyone... on this couch - bar Suzui-san. You know... what that means." He sighed, preparing himself for the next blows to his body. "I'm fine. Just -- let's get this over with..." Grumbling, Sojiro turned around and walked to his seat, though not without mumbling a few profanities.

"Aki..." Haru frowned.

"Okay... Let's go."

It showed Joker from above, head bowed down. A man's shadow was cast on the floor, slowly advancing on him. The camera panned down Joker's back, stopping at his heavily bruised and bleeding wrists.

"Guess the drug was too strong..."

Rumi's eyes widened, recognising the voice. Her hand slipped over her mouth. "N-No way..." Next to her, Naomi frowned.

"What's wrong?" Asked Naomi. Her eyes widened too when Rumi started to tear up. "Rumi-chan?"

"I... I..." Rumi bit her lip, looking down at the floor. "What's he doing...?"

It clicked. "Rumi-chan is the man your...?" She trailed off, watching in horror as Rumi nodded.

Yumehara cocked her head. "What's wrong? Who is he?"

"That's... my father..." Oh. "I was gonna... I was going to post his name on - on the Phan-Site last month, b-but then the - the whole Okumura thing happened, and I..."

Naomi grits her teeth and whipped her phone out. "What's his name again?"

"H-huh?" Rumi blinked. "Rumi Daiki, why?"

A few seconds later, Naomi turned her phone off, placing it in her pocket. "No reason." She gritted out.

At the same time, Mishima's phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out, jolting at the notification.

"Rumi Daiki. He's the man who hurt Joker and abuses his daughter and mother. Please steal his heart."

Mishima turned to look at the crowd. No one had their phone out. He looked at Rumi. Next to her, Naomi met his eyes, nodding slightly. Smiling, Mishima nodded back. He has another request for the Phantom Thieves. And he's sure they'd enjoy it.

It shows Joker from the front, arm behind the chair, head limp. "Wake him up." Water was splashed onto him, jolting the boy awake. Joker's face was shown as he shook some of the water from his hair and looked up. The camera showed his perspective as he looked up at the three men in the room, one more prominent than the other.

Rumi whimpered, pulling her legs up to her chest. Just looking at his face brought back horrible memories. She wondered how Akira was fairing. After all, he might not have to have put up with it as long as she has, but even one of his... sessions was scarring. If she heard correctly, he broke his ribs. He's never done that to her. Maybe to her mother, but never to Rumi herself. And ever since then, her mother seemed... defeated. She'd given up. Rumi wondered if Akira had given up.

The screen showed Joker again as he took in his surrounding. "No dozing off." The man said again. Joker looked around before seemingly realising that he's in cuffs. He struggled some, as if not remembering where he is.

Akira hissed, feeling the cuffs dig into his skin. He remembers being disorientated. When he was woken up, he forgot where he was. He forgot the situation. Because he was back in the police car, taking him away for his supposed assault. Luckily for him, he was reminded almost instantly.

"You still don't get it, do you?" The man slowly advanced on him.

Rumi remembered the feeling. She remembered how it felt as he slowly approached you like a predator. It made it all the worse when he eventually struck. With her and her mother, it was him pulling their hair or backhanding them. With Akira...

Joker looked up at him. "Give it up!" He slammed his foot on Joker's ribs, causing him to fall to the floor, the chair breaking upon impact.

It was breaking his ribs.

Akira yelled out, dropping the controller and clutching his ribs.

"Akira!"

The others panicked as Akira whimpered, his breathing broken. 'It's not real.' He told himself. 'It's not real!' Yet it felt exactly how it did two weeks ago. He choked, tears flooding his vision. It was horrible. He felt horrible. And this wasn't even the end.

"Aki... Akira... Listen to me..." Makoto knelt down and grabbed Akira's forearms. "I need you to listen." Akira tilted his head up to her. "You need to let go of your ribs. You'll only make it worse." He really wanted to say no. Really. But he knew that Makoto knew what she was doing. And so, with trembling arms, Akira let Makoto remove his hands from his ribs. "Okay. Good. Now, I need you to follow my breathing." She clasped his hand, placing it near her heart. "In four." She breathed in. "Hold seven." She paused. "Out eight." Like a mantra, she repeated the technique until Akira's breath stopped breaking up. "Good. Okay, I need you to let someone else take over. Can you do that for me?" When Akira was about to protest, Makoto added on, "Just until you start to talk to sis, okay?"

Akira looked down. His breathing was starting to get better, but it still hurt to do so. He could continue. He can. He can... So why is he hesitating? Akira looked at his shaking hands. Oh. That's why.

"You're terrified." Arsene points out the obvious, a solemn tone to his usual snark. "You can't continue like this. What is the saying? Pass the baton...?"

"O... Okay..." He breathed, sagging against the couch. "Yeah... Um..." Akira picked up the controller and held it out. "... Wh... Who wants...?"

Yusuke sighs, "I shall." He takes the controller off of Akira. "Do not strain yourself, Aki." He places a kiss on Akira's forehead, watching as the other nodded tentatively. Futaba, albeit hesitant, moved out of the way sitting next to Ann, the Mona bag on her lap. Yusuke, grateful, sits next to Akira, allowing him to lean on his shoulder.

Joker hacked, flinching as he hits the ground. "Come on, " The man taunts, "cooperate." He steps on Joker's head, digging his heel in. "Or, what? You want another shot?"

Akira winces, feeling the sharp pain afflicted to his temple. He groans, tensing against Yusuke.

Yusuke frowns, feeling guilt coil in his empty stomach. With every push of a button, Yusuke exposed Akira to another form of pain. He told himself that it's the man's fault. He's the one actually hurting Akira. But he can't but feel responsible. By playing this godforsaken game, he replayed the cycled of abuse. Yet he couldn't pass the baton just yet.

Haru, not knowing exactly what to do, holds Akira's hand. Inwardly, she swears to get revenge on this man. She will use all of the power she swore not to touch to find this man. And the rest is best left to the imagination. You don't mess with a socially powerful sadist.

Sae hisses, "He threatened you with borderline illegal substances?"

Takemi glares. Drugs are not to be taken lightly. And with the drugs that were put in Akira's system? She doesn't even want to imagine what would happen if given just a few more shots of that serum.

Joker looks around, spotting a security camera. The man raises an eyebrow. "Huh? What about the camera?" He looks back at Joker. It shows the back of Joker's head as the man crouches down. He grabs a fistful of his hair.

Rumi freezes. Didn't that look familiar? Her breathing paces, tears pricking her eyes. She places her heads over her ears, a sob stuck in her throat.

Naomi frowned. "Rumi...?"

He slowly pulls Joker's head to eye level. "Are you thinking it can be used video evidence?"

Sae growls. Yes. It can. A case was already forming in her head. If the Phantom Thieves can't take him down, she will. He can be charged with many cases. And if his violent nature is anything to go by, she can add domestic abuse to the list. If the man even had a family.

Three options appeared.

"Of course not..." "What do you mean?" "..."

Yusuke blinked. "I... I guess, 'Of course not.'?" He said though it was more of a question than a declaration. He felt Akira shrug.

"Do whichever." He slurred.

Frowning, Yusuke tore his gaze away from Akira. "Well then, we'll go with this."

"So you're not that dumb." The man replied. "Which is good, 'cause we get to take as much time as we NEED!" Halfway through, he slammed Joker's head onto the floor. Emphasising on the 'need', he slammed his foot into Joker's stomach.

Akira gasped sharply, forcing his hands to stay away from his stomach and head. His hand tightened around Haru's a whine low in his throat. He felt like throwing up. Fuck. Fuck.

"No..." Rumi muttered, shaking her head. "No no no nononono..."

Naomi placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder. "Rumi...?"

Rumi jolted at the touch, "No!" She yelled. Naomi pulled her hand back, watching as Rumi pulled on her hair, thrashing about. "No no no no no!"

Alert, Kawakami ran to her side. "Rumi? What's the matter?" Rumi was oblivious to her, shouting the same word over and over again. As soon as Kawakami placed a hand on her arm, she recoiled.

"NO!" She screamed. "Stay away! I'm sorry! I'll be good!" Rumi whimpered.

Mishima jolted. "Is this...?"

"Rumi." All of a sudden Makoto was next to Rumi. "Rumi, you need to breathe." As if contemplating, Makoto closed her eyes. Then, she hugged the thrashing girl. "You're safe. I promise. You're safe here."

Rumi's body relaxed. She slowly raised her arms and hugged back, sobbing into Makoto's shoulder. "I-I'm sorry, Ni-jima-sen-senpai! I'm so so-rry!" Her worked were broken by hiccups and sniffs. She cried out apologies until, finally, she calmed down. "I'm sorry..." She mumbled. "You didn't need to do that... I would've calmed down or passed out in a few minutes..."

Makoto shook her head. "It's my job as the student council president to help any student who needs it." She sat Rumi down. "I need you to answer a question. Just one." Rumi nodded. "What is your relation to this man? Your reaction indicated that it was more than just being reminded of horrible memories. This man... He's hurt you before."

Naomi answered for her, "He's her father." Makoto looked over to her, eyes wide. "I've posted his name on the Phan-Site just a few moments ago..." She leaned in towards Makoto, not wanting everyone else to hear. "He's abusive to both her and her mother."

Makoto closed her eyes and looked down. "I see..." She looked at Rumi. "We were planning to steal a few corrupt hearts next week, though I guess it would be fine if we went a bit early, this time." Rumi jolted, blinking owlishly. "Your life is in danger, correct? Then it's best if we steal his heart as soon as possible. Of course, " Makoto looked at Akira, "you're not doing anything strenuous!" Akira grinned sheepishly, though the pain was evident. "Idiot..." Makoto looked at Rumi. "We've said it once, we can say it again. The Phantom Thieves are on the side of justice. Situations like yours are why we were created in the first place, remember?" Almost robotically, Rumi nods, tears resurfacing.

Satisfied, Makoto goes back to the thieves, a murder plan already forming in her mind. Ah~ The differences between the sisters. One works on a case, one works on a murder plan. Only one will prevail.

Joker choked as he curled up on himself. The man was shown walking away. He took the clipboard offered by another man. "Obstruction of justice, blackmail, defamation, possession of weapons..." He read. The man turned around, "Manslaughter too, huh? Talk about the works." He waved the clipboard before raising it to his face again. "To think all these crimes were led by a punk like this..."

Ryuji growled. Once again, Akira was being punished for a crime he did not commit. Or rather, crimes. Why is it always him? Whenever Akira tried to do the right thing, he was always punished for it. It was as if the whole universe wanted him to be a bad guy. Just one good thing. Only one. That's all he needed. One good thing to make up for all the bad. Was it too much to ask for?

"And you seem to be enjoying every second of it..." It showed Joker, tears leaking from his eyes.

Yusuke scowled. To think that this man would cross over more than a couple hundred lines. He made Akira cry. There is no saving him. And there never will be.

A thought bubble appeared, coming from Joker. 'I was... enjoying it...? Everything's hazy... I can't remember...'

Steadying his breath, Akira read out his thoughts as loud as he could. Hopefully, it was enough.

Select Difficulty: Safe, Easy, Normal, Hard, Merciless

Yusuke read out the descriptions for each level of difficulty.

Ryuji grinned tightly, "Hard! We ain't that much of a pussy!" Makoto reprimanded him on his language.

Ann frowned. "But, aren't we?" She shifted. "I say normal. That's probably how hard our life is now, right?" The thieves looked down, contemplating.

"Um!" Shinya yelled, standing up. "Normal would be best, right? The attacks don't hurt too much, but it's enough to make everyone realise what you do to help us all."

Yusuke smirked, "How brilliantly put. Then, we shall go with normal difficulty. Thank you." Shinya blushed at being thanked by one of the Phantom Thieves. It felt amazing.

The menu went away. The man shook his head. "... You should know your place." He nodded his head. One of the men walked over to Joker. He undid his cuffs and turned Joker around, pushing him onto the floor. Joker was given all about two seconds to rub his wrists before the clipboard was shoved in his face. "Sign this. It's a confession under your name."

"I understand." "..." Were the two options.

Akira's breath hitched as he remembered exactly what happened after. He swatted the board away. And then his thigh was being crushed under the man's heel with the threat of losing it. God, he hoped that he won't swat it away. Please, don't swat it.

Yusuke looked to the others. "What shall I pick?"

Ann frowned. "I understand... That would be the best choice... right?"

Ryuji scowled. "As much as I hate it, Ann right." He grimaced. "He's gonna hafta sign anyway, right? Might as well do it now." Makoto nodded in agreement.

"I agree, " Haru said, voice only slightly shaky. "Defying him now would only result in more harm to Aki."

Futaba subconsciously petted Morgana's head. "Yeah... Kiki doesn't need more injuries..." Morgana gave a low hum of agreement, allowing Futaba to pet him just this once. Any other time, his claws will be unsheathed.

Yusuke nodded and selected the first option. Akira sighed in relief. No injuries. No more. At least, for now.

The man shoved the pen into Joker's chest. "Don't expect to walk out of here in one piece. We're going to make sure you understand... One must take full responsibility for their actions..."

Akira could laugh. Yeah. He didn't make it out in one piece. That was for sure. Two weeks had passed and he still woke up, terrified out of his mind. It scarred him in more way than one. But scars can fade over time. And so, he will let time do its thing. With his friends and lovers acting as a catalyst.

Joker pulled the pen and readied himself to sign.

ENTER GIVEN NAME: _

ENTER FAMILY NAME: _

Yusuke shook his head, "To think that this game would present this option..." He typed away, inputting his leader's name. "It is preposterous. As if our leader could be anyone else."

Akira smiled, leaning into Yusuke. "Thanks, Yu."

Hitting x, a bubble appeared. 'Akira Kurusu. That is my name.' An option to continue or rewrite appeared. Yusuke continued. Akira signed the confession and held it up.

The screen changed.

Immediately, Akira relaxed, tension leaving his body. The pain, though still faint, had begun to dissipate.

A silver-haired woman in a business suit was shown walking down a hallway. As she approached a door, two men blocked her path. One, a police detective, stopped her.

"Excuse me, this area's off--"

She cut him off, "I'm Nijima Sae from the Public Prosecutor's Office."

Sae huffed. "I guess it's almost time for my interrogation of him..." Next to her, Sojiro grumbled, obviously not inclined to watch his charge get grilled on information regarding the Phantom Thieves. On the other hand, he could finally find out when his activities started and how oblivious he'd been. Perhaps it had been since day one when Akira first opened the door to LeBlanc. Or maybe when the first day of school? Only one way to found out.

"The prosecutor's office?" The man questioned, "What business do you have here?"

Haru frowned, "So they did try to stop Nijima-san..." Sighing, she absent-mindedly massages Akira's hand. "I guess they had to make a show of it..."

Nijima put her hand to her lips. "Just let me though; it's urgent." The annoyance and aggravation were clear in her tone as she let her arm fall to herself. "There's something I need to confirm with the suspect."

Himura whistled. "Wow. She sounds pissed."

Takeda nods curtly. "Yeah." He agrees, smiling nervously, "You don't wanna piss her off."

"Please." Yumiko scoffs, flipping her hair back. "You don't wanna piss any Nijima off." She signals to Makoto. "Ever thought about angering her?" The two boys pale quickly, sweat dripping on their forehead. A satisfied smirk on her face, she leans back into her chair. "Exactly."

"Nijima." The police detective starts. "I believe this case is no longer in your jurisdiction. Besides..."

An older detective is shown walking towards Nijima. "Are you prosecutor Sae Nijima?" Sae turned around to face him. "I just got off the phone from your director."

Sae grimaced. She hadn't really paid much attention before, but she hoped that her intense interrogation didn't worsen Akira's state. He looked exhausted when she came in, but he also seemed to expect her entrance. It made sense now that she was informed of the plan. They all knew that he'd tell her the truth. And they all knew how intense she'd be. Yet, she still felt guilty about how hard she pushed him. Especially when he looked like he would collapse or pass out at any given time.

"Hurry and get it over with. To be frank, you're being an inconvenience."

Makoto glared. How dare those bastards talk to her sister like that? They better be grateful that Makoto wasn't around to hear that. If she was there, they'd have a rough time dealing with the monstrous duo known as Anat and Makoto.

Sae was shown as her phone beeped. She answered, holding it to her ear. A speech bubble appeared labelled 'SUI Director's Voice'. He sighed. "I thought I ordered you to stand by."

Sae's bubble showed up, her icon appearing next to it. "I'm responsible for this case, yet I'm not even being allowed an interrogation!?"

Takeda whistled, looking to the side. "Man, that's just sad."

Another from 2-D, Iwata, waves his hand dismissively, "Tell me 'bout it." Realisation lands on his face. "Oh my God! That's genius!" He yells, shooting up from his seat. "Of course!"

Himiko blinked owlishly, "Wh-What did you figure out?"

Iwata laughs triumphantly, "Well when Nijima-san interrogates Kurusu, the game will go all the way back to the start when Kurusu arrived in Tokyo, probably. And then, we get to see how the Phantom Thieves were formed!"

Himura stares blankly. "Obviously." He shrugs. "You're slow, Iwata. Get with the program." It is then that he realises everyone else is deadpanning at him. Himura stutters, "Wh-What? Did I say something wrong?"

Rumi flushes, ducking her head. "Pretty sure you were the only one to figure it out beforehand. Apart from Nijima-san and the Phantom Thieves - of course. They actually know what was gonna happen."

Yumehara and Naomi nod, the rest of the students, teachers and confidants joining in. Himura blushed, running his nape with a sheepish laugh. "I mean, I get why the first years and my class below didn't get it, but I expected the others to figure it out."

Takeda elbows his side. "The only reason you're in our homeroom class is that you barely came to school last year. You're a genius who came into a class with an opening. Me and you --"

"You and I--"

"-- You and I are on two different levels. I'm below."

Naomi grins. "I always knew you bottomed."

"SHUT IT, NAOMI! WE AIN'T GETTING INTO THIS TALK AGAIN!" Then, Takeda gasped. "Omg, if I'm a sub, am I on the same level as Kurusu?"

Kurusu bristled. He turned. "No. You're below me. I'm a switch."

Haru giggled as Takeda gasped dramatically. "Does that mean that Yu and I are above you, Aki?"

"No. Makoto and I get the best of both worlds." Akira looked at her, as serious as can be, and said, "Switches rule the world. Bow before us."

Yusuke, Haru, Ann and Shiho then proceeded to bow before Akira and Makoto, the former looking satisfied while the latter looked incredibly awkward. Ryuji looked at them incredulously, Morgana mimicking the expression on his face. Snickering, Futaba took a picture of the scene.

Makoto hummed, embarrassment momentarily forgotten. "I wonder if what our personas are or if they even have them."

Ann tilted her head up. "Oh, yeah. Hecate is a dom. Obviously."

Akira chuckles. "Arsene claims to be switch too."

Hifumi smirked, giggling. "Well, then, " she stood up, look at the confidants. "As a switch, I demand that you bow before me." Mishima jolted, bowing before her. Shinya, meanwhile, was covering his ears, not wanting to hear any bit of it. Ohya laughed, bowing down exaggeratedly. Sojiro and Sae sighed deeply, wondering where Akira got his friends from. Iwai chuckled, bowing his head to the girl. Chihaya smiled lightly before also bowing her head.

Takemi raised a brow. "Can't. I'm a switch too, after all." In an instant, the ones bowing bowed to her as well. Kawakami facepalmed, regretting a whole lot of life choices. Yoshida cleared his throat, turning his head because kids these days are so weird.

Akechi fights back a scowl. They're all ridiculous. You don't see him lording that fact that he's a switch to the public. It's pitiful... And he hates that he wants to join in.

"Anyway --" Makoto clears her throat, looking at Yusuke. "Continue the game, Yu."

Yusuke smiles at her, raising his upper body. "Of course, my Queen." Makoto flushes bright red. Ryuji laughs. Yeah, Yusuke has that effect on people.

The man replies, "I'm calling because I knew you'd bring it up."

"I will not be convinced unless I confirm it for myself."

Yumehara hums, "Confirm what, Nijima-san?"

Sae looks to her. "It will be revealed. You needn't ask pointless questions if the answer is before you." With that, she looks back, awaiting the next scene.

"This is MY case."

The SUI Director sighs. "Good luck to you then. I won't be expecting much though..."

Akechi narrows his eyes. That was not part of the plan. He was supposed to go in to question him, kill the guard and then kill Akira. It might have been her. She might have been part of some plan to help Akira escape his fate. He will have to do something about that. Punishment is in store for the SUI Director.

Sae glared. She had no idea whether nor not her boss was talking about getting information or her as a whole, but either way, she was pissed.

Just as Sae pocketed her phone, the older detective spoke once more. "Ah, Prosecutor. I forgot to mention something important. Your time will be cut short. We can't permit you to talk to him for that long."

Akechi crossed his legs, his expression unreadable. 'Well,' he thinks, 'at least they tried to do something right. Still, I can't believe they're that stupid.'

Akira blinked. Sae mentioned not having long to question him, but he didn't realise they cut her time short. They must have wanted Akechi to kill him as soon as possible. He grimaced. It was a close call. He almost let Sae go without him giving her the phone.

Sae turned her head with a sigh. The man spoke again. "It's for your own sake. His methods are unknown. After all, we don't know if it's safe to simply meet and speak with him."

Sojiro scoffed. Right. Whenever that happened, they sent some rookie to talk to the suspect. They just didn't want Sae to talk to him for long. They could have at least tried to hide it.

"I understand." As Sae walks away, the screen goes black before fading on again. The camera was angled just behind Akira, showing the front of Sae and the back of Akira.

Akira flinches, gasping sharply. "Crap, I forgot how much pain I was in..."

Yusuke frowned, his grip tightening on the controller. Cautiously, he leaned his head on Akira's, relaxing when Akira leant his head on his shoulder. Haru claimed his hand, leaning her body on Akira's. She tried not to apply too much pressure. He had mentioned a numbing pain in his arms.

Makoto grimaced, hooking her arm around Ryuji's and leaning in. And Ryuji leaned back in. They both hated feeling useless. And in this scenario, that's exactly what they are.

Ann felt Shiho wrap her arm around her waist and the tears prick her eyes. She smiles at Shiho, but it doesn't last long as she bites her lips, willing the tears to retreat.

Morgana grumbles lowly, ears drooping. Futaba holds him close, absent-mindedly rubbing his head. Well, he'll make this last exception. He would never admit that it feels a bit nice. Plus, they both need a distraction right now.

"... I didn't expect it'd be you." Sae's icon looks away sadly as Sae herself gestures with her hands.

"You knew sis?" Makoto questions, lifting her head from her Ryuji's shoulder. Akira nods but doesn't elaborate. Neither Sae or Sojiro speak up, the former recounting every time she slammed her hand on the table in a rage and the latter frowning at the sight of Akira. "I see..." And she leans back into Ryuji, a frown on her lips.

After a moment of silence, Sae looks at Akira, a crossed look on her face. "You'll be answering my questions this time." She looks around and spots an empty, discarded syringe. She clicks her tongue. "Those bastards..."

"Guess we're on the same wavelength, Nijima-san." Naomi glares at the screen, as do the rest of 2-D. While the rest of the school (minus the Thieves and Rumi) were still cautious about the transfer student, 2-D had grown quite attached to him. They wanted to befriend the guy after seeing both Ann and Mishima hang around him, but, alas, reputation is quite the social construct.

Sae leans in, placing her arms on her knees. When she spoke, her voice was slightly calmer and soft. "Can you hear me? It seems you've been through a lot. Almost anything can happen here... and I can't stop them."

Well, it seemed she proved herself wrong. Because she managed to save Akira from being shot by the traitor. And she didn't even realise until Futaba (or Alibaba, as she went by) contacted her and informed her that Akechi was to kill Akira. She side-eyed Akechi, silently wondering how the teen became such a psychopath.

She leaned back, folding her arms. "That's why I need you to answer me honestly. I don't have much time either. What was your objective?" Sae asks, the camera angle switching behind her to show the front of Akira. "Why did you cause such a major incident?"

Hifumi frowns. He looks so defeated. The boy who saved her from her mother and didn't even bat an eye when it was revealed that she wasn't as good as everyone thought. It made her soul cry seeing him like this.

"I didn't think it was a prank from the get-go, but I couldn't assemble a case for prosecution."

"Of course, you couldn't." Yusuke scoffs, not intending to downgrade their leader's saviour. "The method is otherworldly."

"It's because I couldn't figure out the method behind it." She adds.

"Of course, you couldn't..." "Why do you want to know?"

Haru giggles, amused. The first option is exactly what Yusuke said. "You guys are on the same wavelength." Yusuke chuckles, careful not to shake Akira and agitate his wounds. Still, despite their similar thinking, Akira is probably closest to Ryuji. It makes sense. They were the original couple before they invited him. He pressed the first option.

"True." Sae agrees with light scoff aimed at herself. "There's no way I could be convinced of such a... 'world' just by reading the reports." She looked at him. "It seems you're coherent."

Sae frowned. He may have been coherent enough to answer her questions, but it didn't mean that the pain was non-existent. All she was doing was making it worse. Forcing him to speak with a goddamn broken rib! Sae was pissed at the interrogators. But she angrier with herself.

"W-World...?" Rumi mumbled, unsure if she actually heard or read that right. She turned to Himura, the established genius. "Any ideas?"

Himura smirks. "One." And he did not elaborate, much to the chagrin of those surrounding him.

"When and where did you find out about that world?" Akira was shown from the front, hand rubbing his wrists as he stares at the table. "How is even possible to steal one's heart?"

"That's the million-yen question," Naomi remarked, crossing her arms and sinking down like a stroppy child. Yumehara raised an amused eyebrow at her as Rumi stifled giggles. Yumiko shook her head as she crossed her legs.

Hifumi glanced down at her lap. As did the other confidants. They all had that question on their mind during some point after they'd found out about Akira. They never asked, simply grateful that he'd help them. Yoshida and Mishima were the only two who didn't need Akira to steal another's heart. Yoshida found his young assistant aiding Yoshida to change heart with his words. Mishima, on the other hand, had a sudden revelation. He suspected that his heart was stolen, but Akira assured him otherwise to his relief.

"Now, tell me your account of everything."

Despite the ache in his bones, Akira looked over to Sae with a grin. "Everything?" The sexual joke was obvious with the way he raised his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. "Including what Ryu, Yu, Haru and I do with your--?" He had no time to finish, however, as Makoto slapped a hand over his mouth. She glared vehemently when she felt him laugh under her palm.

Sae scowled, a blush on her cheeks and a glare on her face. "You know what I meant, Kurusu!"

Ryuji cackled, Ann laughing along with him. Morgana sighed, shaking his head. "Not this again..."

"Start from the very beginning."

"Well," Takeda started. "It all started in the summer of 2003. In some hospital, a woman gave birth to a baby boy-- Ack!"

Yumehara huffed, retracting her fist from his head. "That'll teach you a lesson, moron."

Akira slowly raised a hand to his forehead. The screen faded black before fading into the same scene, except it was noticeably darker. As a blue butterfly formed, slow piano music began to play.

Sae frowned. She never saw this happen. Perhaps it's to do with the MetaVerse or Personas. That's whats she thought. But the theory was wiped from her mind when she saw the other thieves stare in confusion. It's something that only Akira can see.

The butterfly continued to fly past, stars following it. Akira dropped his hands to his lap as he watched the butterfly fly off the screen. A mysterious girls voice spoke. "... You are held captive."

Morgana jolted as he listened. The voice sounded nostalgic. But... the first voice he'd heard other than Zorro was Kamoshida's. And after Kamoshida was Akira and Ryuji. The first female voice he'd heard was Ann's. Who was the speaker? And why did she affect him like this?

"A prisoner of fate who's future has been sealed in advance."

Ann frowned. She turned to Akira. "Who is she, Akira? What is she talking about?"

Akira sighed as he felt the curious gazes of his comrades. "I don't know. All I know is that she's most likely related to another dimension."

"Another dimension?" Futaba questioned.

Akira's back is shown as the girl continues to speak. "This is truly an unjust game... Your chances of winning are almost none."

Yeah. That was another thing that Akira hated. All these otherworldly beings treating his life as a source of entertainment or a game.

"Master," Arsene called out, "Do try to remember my words from earlier on. Fate can always be rewritten."

"But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you..." The butterfly manifested again. Akira's head turned to keep track of it. "I beg you... Please, overcome this game... and save the world..."

Futaba is really getting frustrated now. She hated not knowing things. Especially when it was about her surrogate older brother. Cognitive Pscience is her thing! That's probably why she has the ability to navigate the MetaVerse. Her mother dedicated her life to her and her research. So, why doesn't she know what the girl is talking about? Or who the girl is?

"Aki...?" Ryuji frowned and looked over to him. "What's she going on about? The world needs saving?" Once again, Akira shrugged. He really didn't know. No matter how much he asked Igor or the twins, they never gave him an answer. It annoyed him to no end, but he's learned to deal with it. Hopefully, the same goes for the others.

"The key to victory lies within the memories of your bonds -" The butterfly was now flapping its wings on the other side of Akira's head, "- the truth that you and your friends grasped..." The butterfly flew off-screen. "It all began that day... when the game was started half a year ago..."

Himura smirked, relishing in the knowledge that he guessed right. Suck it, mom! Just because he's in 2-D, it doesn't mean that he's dumb!

"For the sake of your world's future... as well as your own... you must remember..."

Iwata bobbed his head. "Man, this music is amazing." Yeah, Akira thinks. It's the same track that plays in the velvet room. That was the thing that made Akira sure that the butterfly and girl have something to do with the velvet room.

Morgana frowned. Once again, it sounded familiar. But why? He always curses his amnesia. But it's at times like this that he curses it the most.

The butterfly flew off just as the camera changed angles. The screen faded into white.

Shiho cocked her head. "Symbolism..." Ann hummed at her, urging her to go on. In response, Shiho blushed lightly. "I was just thinking. Previously, the screen faded to black before changing scenes. And each scene got worse than the one before. But after the girl spoke of saving the world and remembering the precious bonds Akira-kun made, it faded to white. So, while fading to black meant despair, fading to white meant hope."

Ann smiled, as did the rest of the thieves. Her girlfriend always was the type to read between the lines and pick out the details no one else managed to notice. It's one of the reasons she fell for her. It was sweet and captivating. Shiho didn't seem to notice at all.

The screen suddenly turned a hue of velvet blue. A harsh voice belonging to a young girl spoke. "Hey, inmate!"

Akira jolted. Oh. That's Caroline. That never happened before. He had to question the sudden change.

"Ugh," Arsene grumbled. "That's one of the ones who almost executed me." Akira bit back a laugh. He remembered. When he was called into the velvet room and they had him fuse a persona. He had Pyrojack (Jack-O'-Lantern but Pyrojack is the OG and sounds cooler) and Pixie, but the twins had suggested using Arsene, to which Akira refuted. Even if Arsene didn't have the best abilities, Akira simply replaced them. There was no way he'd give up Arsene.

A calmer girl continued. "We just need you to do a small favour. But only you, inmate."

Yup. That's him. Akira wondered what the twins needed. And what the hell they had to do with the game.

"Are you listening!?" The harsher one yelled, scandalised. "Put your finger on the touchpad. I expect you to know what I mean, inmate."

Sighing, Akira took the controller off Yusuke. Well, it was supposed to be him playing anyway. The others raised a brow as he complied, pressing his index finger on the long, black button.

"So it seems you're not entirely incompetent." The calm one hummed. "Very well. Your social stats have been translated from your current self to your in-game self."

The harsh one laughs mockingly. "Be grateful, inmate! Now, you don't have to waste your time doing meaningless things."

The calmer one sighs. "Good luck, inmate. Try not to disappoint."

The screen turned black and a message pops up asking whether or not to save.

Ryuji blinks owlishly. "Who were they?" He asks as Yusuke saves onto a new slot.

Akira sighs. "The nice one in Justine. The other is Caroline." He scratches his hair trying to figure out how to explain it without sounding like a paedo. "They -- They help me make new persona...? Yeah. Let's go with that."

Makoto tucks her hair behind her ear and straightens her skirt. "You sound unsure of that."

"I don't really understand them myself." Akira shrugs. "Arsene doesn't know either. But, they have implied to be eldritch creatures."

Futaba gulps, "That's not concerning." Morgana nods, agreeing with the sarcastic remark.

"Well," Akira sniffs. "They haven't tried to execute me so, that's a win." Nevermind the fact that Caroline is eager as hell to break his fingers with that stupid baton. He chooses to ignore Arsene laughing at him.

Morgana bristles, "Wait, so they execute other people?"

Akira hums. "Not exactly." He yawns, massaging his now aching ribs. God, re-experiencing that did nothing to help his injury. The small and dull pain is now throbbing. "I'm sure it will be explained." He checks the time on his phone. "We started playing about 35 minutes ago..." Wow. Funny how 35 minutes can feel like a whole day.

Kawakami saw his distress and stood, clapping her hands to gain everyone's attention. "Okay! Listen!" Silence in an instant. That is a nice feeling. Obedience is a nice thing. "I think it goes without saying, but the players are obviously worn out by this. We should claim rooms and roommates."

A letter formed in front of Akira with a flash of white. "All rooms are soundproof. Go wild to your heart's content. Wink wink." He shakes his head with a small chuckle, crushing the letter into a ball. He then throws the ball of paper at Ann.

"Oi!" Ann lets out an angry yell before reaching into her bag and throwing a rubber at him. Except he dodges out of the way and the rubber hits Ryuji and is sent up in airs.

"Hey!" Ryuji catches the rubber and throws it back. Ann eeps and pulls Yusuke in front of her to shield herself.

And thus, the war begins.

It only five minutes after the rest of the school join in that someone finally intervenes.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Sae yells, face red with anger (and also from where a pen lid hit her cheek). The students freeze and turn to a very pissed off Nijima. "Listen to what Kawakami has to say!"

Kawakami grins. "Thank you, Nijima-san." She then turns to everyone else an annoyed and stern look on her face. "I have no idea what we'll do with clothes --"

"Clothes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, etcetera will be provided." Akira reads from the letter in his hand. He refrains from throwing it at someone this time.

"-- Nevermind," Kawakami grumbles. "Anyway, I want you all to claim your roommate. There's no need to do it via homeroom; no one can escape this place anyway, it seems." She sighs. "Can anyone here cook?"

Sojiro smirks. "Leave it to me." He says, "I'll need to know how many people to cook for though. I don't suppose you could have a number by dinner time?" Sighing, Kawakami nods.

Morgana grumbles. "Oi, Futaba." Futaba looked at Morgana curiously. "Let me room with you. Knowing this guy, " He gestures to Akira with a paw. "He'll have the others around and I'll have to suffer through their lovey-dovey coupley stuff."

Futaba snickers. "Yeah, you're right." She turns to Hifumi. "Hey, Tougo-chan!" Hifumi starts and looks to her. "You'll be rooming with me and Mona, 'kay?" Hifumi smiles and nods curtly. She felt quite honoured that one of the people she looks up to wants to room with her.

"Ooh!" Ann grins. "I'll be rooming with Shiho, of course!" Shiho giggles into her fist, wrapping her arm around Ann's waist.

"Well then," Makoto smiles. "I'll be rooming with RuRu." Haru smiles joyously and envelops Makoto in a hug.

Akira, Yusuke and Ryuji looked to each other. No matter how they do it, one will be left to be with another not part of the group. They fret in silence before finally...

"I'll room with Akechi."

"Absolutely not!" Yusuke yells, Ryuji also voicing his denial.

Akechi, meanwhile, is stunned. It must be a trick. Akira knows that Akechi to kill him. What is he doing? He hides a scowl. Surely he can't be thinking that Akechi will fall for his trick. He's a Trickster indeed.

Makoto frowns. "Aki, you do remember what he did, right?" Akira nods. "You still want to room with him?" Nod. "Why?"

Akira sighs. "You and I both know. We all do." He shoves his hands in his pockets. "He's not irredeemable."

Haru scowls. "I don't agree with this."

Ann rolls her eyes, shaking her head. "I swear you guys wanted him to join in your fun even when we knew."

Ryuji flushes in embarrassment and anger. "Th-This is different!" He defends. "Akechi literally tried to-- mmph!" Futaba slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Spoilers!" She yells. Removing her hand, she turns to Akira with a frown. "You really want to do this?"

"I do." He declares, determination in his eyes.

"Very well," Yusuke places a hand on his shoulder and rolls his neck. "I will go along with this." The other thieves go to protest, so he quickly adds on, "However, Futaba will keep an eye on you. Or an ear, so to speak."

Makoto hums. "Yes. I suppose that would work." She turns to Futaba. "Would you mind keeping track of his conversations with Akechi?"

"Of course!" Futaba huffs, Morgana on her head. "Morgana will help!"

"I was planning to anyway." He responds, settling on her. "If we hear anything even remotely suspicious, we'll inform you guys."

Akira purses his lips. "You're overreacting." He backs up at the glares sent his way. "It's not like he can kill me, even if he wanted to. Unlike before, you guys are here."

The involuntarily flinch. They know Akira didn't mean it that way, but it still hurt. A reminder that they continued with their daily lives while he was being beaten and drugged was the last thing they needed nor wanted.

Akechi walks up, trying his damnedest to hide the anger snd frustration in his gut. He stops in front of Akira, lowering his voice and ignoring the others. "You trust me, even though I shot you? Don't make me laugh."

Morgana rolls his eyes. "That's the kind of person he is." Akechi holds back a glare as he looks at him. "He doesn't pity you, by the way." His words make Akechi jolt. Morgans had practically read his mind. "Akira genuinely believes that you deserve a second chance. He thinks that somewhere deep inside is a heart of gold."

Akira doesn't deny a single word. Nor does he agree, but it's enough. For now. Because he still can't believe that such a naïve (forgiving) person actually exists. "Fine." He sighs, body and face relaxing. "But this doesn't make us friends."

"That's fine." Is the immediate response. "We can work on it." Is the addition. Akechi ignores it and starts to walk away.

Midway, he stops and looks back. "Well? Are you coming or not?" Akira smirks. Akechi turns back and continues to walk, denying the red hue that blemishes his face. He hears Akira walking up to him. He doesn't know whether Akira has an ulterior motive or not. But either way, he'll be ready for anything.

Well, anything but Akira waking up in a cold sweat, gasping lightly.